Turnovers costly as Georgia falls to South Carolina

Georgia’s two-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday in a 66-57 loss to South Carolina. The Gamecocks sweep the season series and may have dealt a critical blow to the Bulldogs’ tournament hopes.

Neither team got off to a hot start offensively. Tyree Crump completed a four-point play at the 12:55 mark of the first half to tie the game at 9-9. Most of the first half was a grind until South Carolina began to find a rhythm late in the period.

After scoring 22 points over the first 15 minutes, the Gamecocks scored 20 over the final five minutes of the half as part of a 20-8 run to take a 42-27 lead into the half.

Georgia responded with an 11-2 run to open the second half to cut the deficit to 44-38. However, Wesley Myers ended the run with a three-pointer and that would become a theme for the second half.

The Bulldogs battled back to within six on a bucket by Yante Maten with just over eight minutes remaining before Myers buried another three to push the lead back to nine. Crump knocked down another three with 1:47 remaining to cut the deficit to 63-57 but Hassani Gravett delivered the dagger with another three-pointer to seal the victory.

Turtle Jackson led the Bulldogs with 14 points while Maten added 13. Georgia shot 38 percent for the game but turned the ball over 17 times which was a huge factor in the outcome.

Myers and Chris Silva led four different South Carolina players in double figures with 15 each. Frank Booker added 14 off the bench. The Gamecocks shot just 31 percent from the field for the game but were 13-31 from three-point range and turned the ball over just five times.

Georgia will attempt to get back on track Saturday when they return home to face LSU.